Week 16 - Coming off their first winning streak of the season following wins against the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, the (4-10) San Francisco 49ers would play host to the (10-4) Chicago Bears in what would be the final home game of 2018 for Kyle Shanahan's team. It would be a homecoming of sorts for 49ers kicker and longtime Chicago Bear Robbie Gould as well as Vic Fangio who served four years in San Francisco under Jim Harbaugh as defensive coordinator before becoming the current defensive play-caller in Chicago. Taking home Special-teams Player of the Week honors for his stellar performance against Seattle a week ago which included kicking a game-winning field goal in overtime, Gould has excelled at his position with the Niners much like Fangio has in Chicago as he's helped transform the Bears defense into one of the best in the league. But the 49ers defense would also play inspiring football on Sunday as they helped keep it a close game by holding second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the Chicago offense to under 20-points for only the third time this season.
Under first-year head coach Matt Nagy who's made a strong name for himself this season in the race for NFL Coach of the Year, the Bears who entered Sunday's game having already claimed the NFC North, became the first team to ever follow-up four straight last-place finishes with a division title. Already with more wins this season than they've had in the last two seasons combined, Nagy's Bears would need to keep their winning streak alive if they planned to keep pace with the top dogs in the conference and sneak their way to a top-2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. It would take awhile for Chicago to get things going in this one as the Bears were shutout on offense for nearly the entire first half. A missed field goal by Chicago's Cody Parkey highlighted a scoreless first quarter which featured a combined four punts and a trio of three and outs. After taking a 3-0 lead thanks to a made field goal by Robbie Gould, San Francisco would force a rare turnover when a backwards pass by Trubisky was recovered by Niners defensive-end DeForest Buckner. It would be one of two fumbles recovered by the 49ers defense on Sunday and the team's first takeaway of any kind since the first week of October. Sadly, the offense was only able to muster a field goal out of the miscue to make it a 6-0 ballgame.
The turnover would serve as a wake-up call for Trubisky and company as the Bears finally began to show life on offense on their next possession, capping things off with a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Anthony Miller. Trailing 7-6, 49ers QB Nick Mullens would then orchestrate a nice drive of his own just before the half to put his team in position to retake the lead. But after losing both Matt Breida (ankle) and Dante Pettis (knee) to injuries on the same possession and a costly penalty on receiver Trent Taylor for an illegal block, San Francisco was forced to settle for their third field goal of the half, taking a 9-7 lead into halftime. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Gould's third field goal would be the last time they'd strike the scoreboard as they were shutout in the second half. Meanwhile, the Bears picked up right where they had left off, marching 75-yards and capping a 12-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Jordan Howard. The rushing TD with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter would mark the last time either team would score in the ballgame, but not for a lack of trying. San Francisco's first possession of the fourth quarter appeared to be headed in the right direction as they managed to march 70-yards before a tipped pass off the hands of receiver Marquise Goodwin landed in the arms of Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan.
The turnover appeared to be the straw that broke the camels back for the 49ers, especially after Chicago crossed midfield on their ensuing possession. With Chicago looking to put the game out of reach for good, a fight would break out several plays into the drive when rookie safety Marcell Harris was called for unnecessary roughness after his hit on a sliding Trubisky. Spilling out onto the Bears sideline, San Francisco's Richard Sherman and Chicago's Joshua Bellamy and Anthony Miller were in the middle of it all and were seen exchanging punches before being disqualified. However, the excitement wouldn't end there as a forced fumble by rookie cornerback Tarvarius Moore gave the 49ers a sliver of hope as they took over with just under two minutes remaining and no timeouts left. But San Francisco's attempt at pulling off the late game heroics would come up just short as they reached midfield before Nick Mullens threw three straight incompletions, including one on 4th and 4 to seal their fate. Mullens appeared to have a clear path and could've ran for the first down, but instead elected to heave a deep pass intended for Marquise Goodwin that sailed off the mark and out of bounds as the Bears took over and milked the clock.
Through his first seven career starts, Nick Mullens is off to the third best start by an NFL QB in terms of passing yards as he has now amassed 1,995 yards, a figure only surpassed by Patrick Mahomes and Cam Newton. But Sunday's performance would be one he'd prefer to forget as he totaled only 241 yards thru the air on 22 of 38 pass attempts and threw an interception while being held without a touchdown for the first time in his career. As for Trubisky, the Bears QB completed an impressive 25 of 29 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown.
Week 17 Preview - Hitting the road to wrap up their 2018 season, the 49ers will take on the division rival (12-3) L.A. Rams in the regular season-finale. Having won both games at the L.A. Coliseum since the Rams relocated from St. Louis in 2016, the 49ers will look to look to make it a three-peat on Sunday and can play the role of spoiler as Los Angeles tries to seal the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC playoff picture. Chicago who has already beaten the Rams this season, could sneak into the 2 seed if they were to win in their season finale at Minnesota and if San Francisco deals the Rams a loss. However, a win for San Francisco would also hurt their draft position as they currently own the No. 2 overall pick in next year's Draft behind only the (3-12) Arizona Cardinals who the 49ers can leap for sole possession of the No. 1 overall pick if the Cards win and the 49ers lose on Sunday. Both teams will be without key players on offense as both Dante Pettis (knee) and Matt Breida (ankle) will see their 2018 campaigns come to an end while nursing injuries for the 49ers, and Rams Pro Bowl running back Todd Gurley will also sit out Sunday's game with left knee inflammation in hopes of recovering in time for the playoffs.
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Week 16 - Heading into Detroit for their final road game of the season, the (4-10) 49ers entered Sunday's game hoping to exit the Motor City with a win and return home with a winning-streak to finish what's been a disappointing season. But with the (5-9) Lions playing their best football of the season as of late, the Niners would be put to the test. A challenge they appeared to be willing to accept as they jumped out to an early lead by scoring a touchdown on their first drive for the first time all year. It would also mark their first 1st quarter touchdown of the 2015 season.
After putting up a fight which saw the Niners not only score the first 7-points of the game, but also stick around in a back and forth first half, the San Francisco offense disappeared after halftime as they were shutout in the second half. 49ers receiver Anquan Boldin who caught his first career ball against the Lions, got things started off by becoming just the 13th player in NFL history to record 1,000 career receptions when he caught a 5-yard pass on the first play of the game. A series of runs and short passes helped San Francisco march all the way to the goal line where they put an exclamation point on the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass from QB Blaine Gabbert to tight-end Vance McDonald. The Lions answered by scoring a 36-yard field goal and a 29-yard touchdown on back to back drives to take their first lead. A fake punt in which Detroit converted a first down on a direct snap would setup the go-ahead touchdown. But Gabbert would have other plans as the Niners jumped back ahead after a 16-yard touchdown connection to Torrey Smith.
Gabbert managed to go without throwing an interception in the game but a 9-yard sack in which he fumbled the ball at the 1-yard line would cost him in the second quarter. Detroit's Joique Bell would capitalize on the very next play by scampering into the end zone for a touchdown. Niners kicker Phil Dawson would split a pair of field goals, missing a 45-yarder and making one from 40, only to be outdone by Detroit's Matt Prater who kicked a pair including one with time expiring to send his team into the locker room at the half, leading 20-17. Aside from keeping it a close game, San Francisco would also tie a season-high 17 first half points. Unfortunately, it would be all the scoring they would do as they failed to scratch a single point on the scoreboard in the second half. The 49ers shot themselves in the foot nearly all afternoon long as they were called for offsides or for being in the neutral zone seven times to set a single-game high by an NFL team this year, six of which came in the first half, the most for any team since 1993.
In what's been a nightmarish season for 49ers running backs this year with injuries sustained to Carlos Hyde, Reggie Bush and now Shaun Draughn, DuJuan Harris got the nod and was one of the few bright spots for San Francisco on Sunday. Signed by San Francisco as recent as Tuesday just days before Sunday's game, Harris rushed for a career-high 73 yards to lead all players. Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne was also promoted to the team just in time for Sunday's affair and received his heaviest workload yet, rushing for 27 yards on 9 carries and catching a career-best 5 receptions for 20 yards. With both Harris and Hayne still getting their feet wet with their respected team, one name that has been around for quite awhile now in Detroit is receiver Calvin Johnson, better known as Megatron. In what may be his final home game in a Lions uniform, the ?-time Pro Bowl wide-out caught six passes for 77 yards including a fourth quarter touchdown as quarterback Matthew Stafford was sure to send his favorite target off with one last touchdown reception if he indeed plays elsewhere in 2016. Stafford threw for a pair of TD's and eclipsed the 300-yard mark with 301 yards on the afternoon, inching closer to his fifth consecutive 4,000 yard season, needing only 36-yards with one game remaining. Gabbert tallied 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns of his own, but did so in a losing effort as the Niners fell, 32-17.
Week 17 Preview - After falling to 4-11 on the season, the 49ers head back home to meet with the division-rival (7-8) St. Louis Rams where they'll hope to avoid their first four-win season since 2005. As for the Rams who are coming off a 23-17 win over the Seahawks in Seattle, St. Louis will look to finish their disappointing season by finishing with an even .500 record. And their rookie running back Todd Gurley who ran amok versus the Niners in their first meeting this year by racking up 133 yards and a touchdown, will be called upon to do the same thing a second time around. After holding Detroit to fewer than 90-yards on Sunday, the 49er run defense will once again need a strong effort in this one if they plan to end 2015 on a high note and avenge the 27-6 loss to St. Louis earlier this year.
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While most of us feasted on turkey dinners and spent time with our families on Thanksgiving night while being glued to our TV's for Thursday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears had some unfinished business to settle in the NFC North. Free-falling from the NFC power rankings, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers suffered their most recent loss and fourth in their last five games, at home to the Chicago Bears. On a night in which they honored future Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre and inducted him into their own Hall of Fame by retiring his iconic number 4, the Packers were unable to deliver a victory to the Green Bay faithful on a cold and rainy night at Lambeau.
With Packers great Bart Starr in attendance for the Favre ceremony, Green Bay's current great quarterback Aaron Rodgers had himself a sub-par performance under his own standards. In what's been a rough month for one of the NFC's heavyweights which entered Thursday night's game clinging onto a tie for first place in the NFC North with rival Minnesota, the Packers dropped consecutive games at historic Lambeau Field. Just three weeks after surrendering their first defeat to the Lions at Lambeau Field since 1991, Chicago's Jay Cutler finally escaped the frozen tundra with a win under his belt after failing in his first four attempts. Chicago's defense held off a late surge and comeback attempt by Rodgers and company when a fourth and goal attempt from the 8-yard line went sour for the cheese heads as Packers receiver Devante Adams was unable to come up with what would've been the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute remaining.
James Jones also had a go-ahead grab slip away as the ball was stripped from his grasp in the end zone a play earlier which set up the big fourth and goal try. Cutler threw for 200 yards and a touchdown in the win, besting Rodgers who appeared to be hurt after taking a sack, but came back into the game and threw for 202 yards to go along with a touchdown and a late fourth quarter interception. Packers running back Eddie Lacy rushed for 105 yards on 17 carries and caught Rodgers' lone TD pass, but lost a costly fumble in the first half. The turnover set up the Bears who capitalized on the miscue with a 7-play scoring drive which tied the game at 7 before the half as they improved to 5-6 on the year under first-year head coach John Fox. Meanwhile, Green Bay fell to 7-4 on the season with the loss and currently remain a half game behind (7-3) Minnesota for first place in the NFC North who takes on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Green Bay handed the Vikings a loss in their own home just a week ago and are now hoping to get some help from the dirty birds as they try solving their own problems while currently holding onto an NFC Wild Card spot.
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